A site tracing the Catholic life and history of the Ancient Kingdom of Gwent, now known as Monmouthshire,UK from Silurian times. Linked to Mary in Monmouth download free from iTunes Store or RSS feed at end of this blog.Also MaryinMonmouth Group of Face book. Photographs of interesting places. Some Catechesis.Strength of site is in tracing obscure Gwentian saints and martyrs and digging out gems from forgotten sites.Some photographs by Chris Tottle are copyright. Sites in Welsh Marches.

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ST DAVID's CANONISATION 1120AD

WALES WIDE PILGRIMAGE IN 2020 to celebrate a thousand years since his canonisation!-using old pilgrim routes!!!

Come to the Waters....

Whoever drinks the water I will give him will never thirst, indeed the water I give him, will become in him a spring of water, welling up to Eternal Life....John 4:14

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Ancient Cwmbran and the Cistercians

St Derfel, Patron Saint of Cwmbran

Followers

St Michael as a Centaur, fighting on the side of Peter and the Church

Liam Neeson played this int he film

PODCAST IMMINENT OF THE VISIT OF THE RELICS TO CARDIFF

I took recordings of the various Masses and liturgies in the Church as the relics were being received in Cardiff on Tueday and have only lightly edited them. I was doubly glad so many people, who were not able to get in and hear the service of reception and so forth will have the possibility of listening to the Masses for Priests and Vocations, Evangelisation, and personal sanctity, Angelus, Rosary , Litany and Benediction. It was extremely crowded, but I think it captures all the excitement of that day when thousands descended on Cardiff, clapped the little saint for her Christian witness and brought her candles, red roses and many other flowers, incense and beautiful music at the evening Mass.People streamed in until the Cathedral closed at Midnight, and devotions continued all evening, with people praying for conversion of sinners, confessions, praying for priests and praying that all would accept Jesus as their personal friend and Saviour. A Mediaeval style day none will forget. And Bravo to the superb organist!

Dominicans Today buiding a new Friary in US

Procession of Friars

PODCASTS RESUMING SOON AFTER COMPUTER PROBLEMS

I am resuming podcasting later this week or next, because I hade two computer crashes and have had little time to find all the things I need to resume it. I apologise to all the fans of the podcast and all the emails.You can download them from the rss address on this blog, or even via iTunes. Many people like listening on long car journeys! There are some interesting topics coming up.So keep posted.

Dominican Friars

At Chapter

SANCTUS ILTUTUS

St Illtyd , the great Educator

St Ia sculpted by Oberammergau Sculptor

In the Catholic Church. St Ives

Spring in St Ives

The time in Bredon is

Listen free Online to the new podcast!My Pilgrimage to St Winifride's Well

Title Page of the Idylls of the King

Looking for a Quiet Peaceful holiday in a beautiful area of France?

Directions to Capel y FFin

Main road from Abergavenny to Hereford, (or Hereford to Abergavenny if coming the other way!!)Turn off to Llanvihangel Crucorney. Pass Skirrid Inn.Turn LEFT to Llanthony Priory and stay on that road, past priory and up the mountain until you come to Capel y Ffin. Turn Left to monastery, but monastery is in private hands and so you must ask permission to view. On pilgrimage days parking in designated field kindness of Mr and MRs Watkins.

St Illtyd at Gorslas, Camarthen

The Ancient Yew Tree of Mamhilad

DO YOU KNOW WHY BISHOPS WEAR POINTY HATS CALLED MITRES?

Because they represent the flames which came upon the Apostles when Jesus met them to give them these gifts and the organisation of his Church. There was a great Wind and flames of fire, and we are told they settled on the Heads of the Apostles. When the Apostles appointed their successors, the Bishops they received this headwear to remind them they are the descendents of the Apostles of Christ himself, who founded his church on the rock of Peter.

Link to Mary in Monmouth Blog at Libsyn and Show notes

Early British Kingdoms and Saints .

Benedictine Abbey of Bec in Normandy

Monks from here built the Priory of St Mary Magdalene in Goldcliff. The local church is still dedicated to this saint. The Church was built there after the Tsunami of 1607 which destroyed what was left of the Priory.

Truth about Relics

Relics have often been a stumbling block for people trying to understand the church. It is no different than keeping a special photo, item or clothing etc from a loved one when they have passed on. Kissing a picture or reverencing it, lighting a candle next to it or putting a poppy by it on remembrance day, just brings them alive again to you, shows them honour and respect. In the case of relics, if you can ask a living person to pray for you, then we can ask the souls who have made it to heaven to pray for us too, Having a small item which has actually touched their body or even a part of that body brings them especially close to them. The Holy Spirit has completely infused their body, So you ask this person to add their prayers to yours up above, and sometimes there are miracles as a result, although it is the prayer to Almighty God that works the miracle if there is to be one and it is his Will.

Apostles and Martyrs

Bernadette and Our Lady

Our Lady of Lourdes in Tredegar!

Saint Tewdrig /King Theoderick

An Internet bereavement Commemoration

Head of Our Lady from a fresco in the Gunter House, Abergavenny

Secret Masses were said here in times of Persecution 17th century

Hello! The first ten pictures

The first ten pictures are from Llandaff Cathedral or Abbey Church of Our Lady and St Teilo, Then there are some from Mathern Church. Please download the Internet podcast Mary in Monmouth to hear the programmes at maryinmonmouth free from iTunes. This programme is FREE as well. So just type the title Maryinmonmouth into the Store Window and you will find it then subscribe! Automatic after that!Big pictures and feeds and links are at the VERY BOTTOM of the blog! Sorry! Mary

About Me

Evelyn Nicholson is a professional singer who has sung with all the major opera companies as principal soprano.Evelyn has begun her blog influenced by her father's love of the ancient Kingdom of Gwent and to foster a defence of misconceptions about the Catholic Faith.She is a qualified catechist of the Catholic Faith.

Sunday, December 30, 2007

Mary in Monmouth is a podcast created by Evelyn Nicholson as part of her Apostolate in highlighting Catholic spirituality in Monmouthshire, or the ancient Kingdom of Gwent. Evelyn attended school at St Julians in Newport, one of the first Gwentian saints she talks about and then attended the University in Wales, Aberystwyth and University of London. She gained her Cathechist Diploma from the Maryvale Institute in September 2007.Evelyn was very influenced by the stories of Gwent told to her by her father Harry Francis Nicholson, who together with his brothers was proud to be a 'Man ofGwent' and who was proud to assert that people from Gwent, the Silures, Sugari and others fought not only the Anglo Saxons and Normans, but other Welsh Kingdoms, such as Glamorgan, the Irish, various pirates and all manner of others. The Saxons under Harold conquered all of Gwent shortly before he in turn was killed at Hastings. Harold worshipped at the Church at St Woolos known as Llanfair (St Mary) now known as St Woolos Cathedral (St Gwynlliw's).

The link to Rome was always very strong indeed. People went from Gwent to Pilgrimages in Rome and Jerusalem, including St David-one time Bishop of Caerleon, St Cadoc and St Illtid.

The story begins at the Court of King Caractacus, his son born in Rome called Linus who knew St Peter and succeeded him as Pope.We then look at the legend of the Glastonbury Thorn and evaluate this. Saints Julius, Aaron, Amphilabus and Alban are next to be discussed .We take a break to look at some ancient Catholic Christmas traditions such as the Mari Lwyd (the Venerable Mary) which has been merged with a pre Christian custom and visit Tredegar House in Newport and its Victorian Christmas.

We then move on to the Age of Saints in Monmouthshire and consider the style of the Catholic faith in the first Millennium of the Catholic faith in Wales. How the priests took over from the Druid Brehons, how Howel Dda submitted his laws to the Pope for approval. How thirty Welsh flowers are named after Mary. We talk about Green Martyrdoms and White Martyrdoms and how the early Welsh prayed and confessed and used rosary beads to learn psalms and the 'Our Father' or Paternoster. We look at St Gwynlliw , St Gwladys and their Children and St Tatheus of Caerwent and the martyred St Maches and the penance St Tatheus placed upon her murderers. What were the early Monmouthshire monasteries and the areas they influenced. How did they live? How did they worship?

We learn of the Holy Mountain-known as St Michael's Mount known as Ysgyrrid Fawr (The Skirrid) which was split in half at the time of the Crucifixion. This mountain was climbed by Catholics attending secret masses during time of terrible persecution in the 17th and 18th centuries.The story of the the martyred hermit Pater Isshow or St Issui, murdered when offering kindness to a traveller.

We then pass through the Saxon and Viking times, with them sailing up and down the Usk and the Wye and laying waste to the surrounding villages and grand Roman towns like Caerleon.

Benedictine priories were set up as the result of the Norman Conquest, and many of these have exciting and varied histories. Goldcliff Priory, Chepstow, Usk, Abergavenny,Monmouth and Bassaleg all produced exciting histories, which in time were completed with large Cistercian Abbeys at Tintern and Llantarnam,Grace Dieu and Abbey Dore now in Herefordshire). There was the Great Augustinian Abbey of John the Baptist at Llanthony, and Austin Friars and Dominicans in Newport,all but wiped out during the Plague.There was also an Augustinian Priory dedicated to St Cynfarch near Chepstow, and Franciscans at Usk and Hereford and Carmelites at Usk

We explore various Gwentian Devotions and move on to the Great Divorce and discuss the true reasons and consequences of Henry VIII assuming the Pope's role and how it led to almost 250 years of persecution of those who remained lyal to Rome. The martyrdom of large numbers of sons of Gwent people who loved the mass and went to be trained in French centres and the stubborn resistance of the great lay families of Gwent, the Heroic Herberts and Joneses, the Valiant Vaughans and the Magnificent Morgans all protected the Faith by giving shelter to priests and doing all they could to protect Catholics.

The little Church at Llanarth, the Gunter House and Little Chapel at Abergavenny and all the secret Mass centres and chapels, all these stories are waiting to be told, as well as the accounts of the Martyrdoms of St John Kemble near Hereford, St David Lewis at Usk, St John Lloyd and St Philip Evans at Cardiff, all of whom were agonisingly hung drawn and quartered, simply for being Catholic priests at a time when a Prebyterian Plot hatched by Titus Oates claimed that Catholic priests were spies and traitors wanting to hand Britain over to the Spanish Inquisition! That many of these priests were loved by Catholics and Protestants is undisputed. Protestants held 63 year old Father David Lewis' hand when he was hung until he died in order to prevent drawing and quartering.

We then go on to learn how the church began to build up again. Gwent was often called the 'True Daughter of Rome' because people valiantly resisted for hundreds of years all the attempts to beat them into submission and attend English services.

Finally large numbers of Irish swelled the ranks of Catholics in the county again, and the remaining great families who were not reduced to penury by having all their lands seized etc joined them. We talk about the Herbert Family again, Lady Llanover and her patronage of the Daughters of the Holy Spirit to began Catholic schools again in Monmouth, Abergavenny, Pontypool, Blaenavon, Abersychan and other places, and the return of the Rosminions to Newport and the Franciscan Friars to Cwmbran and the Benedictines to the new Priory at Abergavenny.

In 2007 huge numbers of pilgrims gathered at Tintern Abbey to see the dedication of the new statue of Our Lady St Mary of Tintern carved from the Mediaeval original after the lower part of the original was found minus head and head of the Infant Christ in the stone store. In a largely Mediaeval ceremony the project , under the commission of the Cistercian Abbot of Caldey Dom Daniel Sandvoort was dedicated by Archbishop of Cardiff, Archbishop Peter Smith and the Anglican Bishop of Monmouth and other dignitaries from the Ecumenical Society of the Virgin Mary.

Indeed the whole history of the country will be fascinating to all those who have been disinherited and disconnected from any of their local ecclesiastical history.The Anglican Church became disestablished as the Church in Wales and kept a largely Catholic theology.

All the podcasts have an element of Catechesis with Mary used as an overall title (as it is in the church )as Mary an Icon for the Catholic Church, which survived all the persecution aided by brave priests and brave people.